And yet most retailers only have standard shipping. You don’t have to go all-out when it comes to multiple shipping options, but even a choice between standard and express delivery at check-out can have a positive impact on sales. More shipping options, especially for specialist, luxury or perishable products, attracts more customers and contributes to a more satisfactory shopping experience.

Consumers want the convenience and choice of same day, overnight, next day or three day delivery. Online shoppers are familiar with shipping merchants so it’s a good idea to add at least one courier service to the mix, in case your customers are wary of standard services like Australian Post.

While customers may not expect to have their item in their hands that very day, a huge 61% of online shoppers do expect shipping to be underway within 1-3 hours! This is because consumers know the final mile part of the journal is usually the slowest part, so they expect your shipping process to be fast and smooth to get their goods on the road as quickly as possible. But in terms of delivery time itself results are more mixed. So what are the finer details of all the different delivery speeds? And which one is best for your e-commerce business? Let’s take a look.

Same day delivery.

Same-day delivery may seem desirable on the surface but it is more of a niche service for certain kinds of products and industries. Same-day delivery requires a surplus of stock for each product being serviced available in a storage facility that can prepare a quick turn-around on orders. Same-day delivery may be important in metropolitan areas, business services, industrial industries or even some luxury retailers but for the most part consumers will opt for a more relaxed delivery speed, especially if it is cheaper or free.

Next-day delivery.

Nowadays around 90% of today’s online retailers offer next-day delivery. It’s one of the most popular options but it doesn’t come cheap, either costing you or the consumer a shipping fee. As a result, some companies have scaled the cost of their products to cover same-day shipping costs, but most consumers are happy to pay a small shipping fee. On the down side, expectations of next-day delivery are high and delivery failures can rapidly translate into unhappy customers and negative reviews. This may not suit small businesses doing shipping themselves but may work well for a medium sized company with an organised inventory.

Express 1-3 day delivery.

Express delivery Did you know that 61% of Australian shoppers would like flexible delivery options?is a tried and tested favourite among all the shipping options. Consumers can expect to receive their parcel in just a few days for an affordable price. Products are also trackable and guaranteed to arrive safely. There are upsides for your business too: express delivery requires less inventory in storage, meaning you don’t necessarily need to invest in an inventory management system. This can save you big time in space, money and time. Low overhead costs along with high customer satisfaction and safe delivery makes express shipping a winner for most businesses.

Standard 1-6 day delivery.

Standard shipping is offered at either a low flat rate or FREE making it far and away the most popular delivery option in retail. Who doesn’t love free stuff? Consumers are often happy to wait a few days for a parcel if they can skip the shipping costs. Standard shipping can streamline your product distribution and comes with a bunch of tracking and delivery options to boot. Free shipping can also be offered as an incentive with a $100 or more minimum spend. This can add up to a healthy sales increase for your business but unless you also have express and next-day shipping options you risk losing your more impatient customers